Two years ago yesterday was the last day I shared on this earth with my husband. I told him I loved him as I said goodbye through tears.
What was always my worst fear came true in a heartbreaking instant. This was never in the plan. That moment, and every moment since, has left us at a crossroads. The question in my mind is always "where do we go from here?"

I know the sting of death. I know the horrendous road of grief. I understand them both way more intimately than I'd ever hoped to.

Yesterday was difficult. It always will be. It was the worst day of our lives 2 years ago. But that doesn't mean it has to be the worst day of our lives for the rest of our lives.

We have a choice to make every year. Will we mourn my husband's death or do we celebrate his life?

Our response as a family will always be the latter.

We celebrate his life and honor who he was by being who he loved to be, one who gave of himself selflessly to others.

Death has taken so much from us. We want to take some of its power away. Which is why we do the Choose Joy Project every year. It's not because we don't feel the sting of death. It's because we want to counter the sting of death with the embrace of love and joy.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in Choose Joy yesterday. We heard many incredible stories of all you did for others. Gassing up people's cars, giving generous cash donations to people in need, giving gift cards, buying lunches, giving scholarships, donating electronics-the list goes on and on.

Death wins far too many times in life, but yesterday Joy won. It won big time.

Below are some of the pictures you sent us throughout the day. Also, at the last minute our local news station contacted us and asked to come along for the ride to see what Choose Joy was all about. They captured my little family in action and told our story well. To watch the feature online click HERE.

Thank you again for being a part! We already cant wait for next year-Choose Joy 2016.

"The light of My presence is shinning upon you. Brighten up the world, by reflecting who I am."

*Love reading this blog? Let's be friends officially! I can come right to your email Inbox. All you have to do is hit the follow button to your left. Thanks for following along on our journey, new friend.

Sarah Rodriguez Rhodes

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Ellis Update: Today was a hard morning, guys. We got to the hospital & things just felt all wrong. I don’t know how to explain it other than that. Then the anesthesiologist had issues with some secretions Ellis was having that we were told amplified her risk during the surgery while under anesthesia. Given the past things we’ve walked through, we just decided it wasn’t a risk we were at all willing to take. So we made the decision to go home, re-group & do the surgery another day. Since the surgery is elective we had our medical teams full support in this decision. We are home now & doing well. This wasn’t an easy decision to make. For months we’ve prepared mentally, emotionally, schedule-wise, financially etc for this day. But we have to be lead by peace. And if those giving her medical care also weren’t completely at peace, it just wasn’t the right time, for whatever reason. I don’t always understand the “why” but I won’t always & I’m ok with that. We appreciate your prayers & promise to keep you informed of when her surgery will be in the coming months. Also, the day wasn’t a complete loss...Ellis did get to hang with the cute hospital dog-so at least that part was a win ☺️ Looking for some kind of humor-it’s been a rough day.

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